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If you're moving your favorite houseplant or cubicle-friendly companion to a new, larger planter, try adding some packing peanuts to the bottom of the planter. The peanuts beneath the soil won't compact, and excess water will drain cleanly through them without sitting in the bottom of the pot, slowly rotting your plant's roots.
Root rot is a serious problem after re-potting a plant. It's easy to over-water a plant in a new, larger pot because you think you need to wet all of the new soil even if the plant only lives in the center. Use Styrofoam packing peanuts to allow the extra water to soak out of the bottom of the pot, drain past the peanuts, and then out of the pot into a dish under the pot.
This way the moisture doesn't sit in soil at the bottom of the pot, slowly drying out, and possibly endangering your freshly re-potted plant. If you want an alternative, we've heard that aquarium gravel or pebbles work just as well. What are some of your best plant-care tricks? Share your tips in the comments.
Styrofoam Peanuts as Potting Mix | Real Simple
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